“Did some of the stuff in the book come from your life?”

When I was young, my little cousin was badly burned in a household accident. I spent weeks with him, reading to him, making up stories for him, keeping him company as he slowly recovered. I can’t help but think that experience contributed to my understanding of the physical and emotional pain endured by Billie Jo and her mother. It also gave me insight into what Billie Jo’s father might have felt.

Billie Jo’s character began to emerge during the research process, before I’d written a word. Louise’s character came later, as I attempted to assemble all the pieces of the research into a coherent story.

I’m not certain. Perhaps THUMB. Perhaps NIGHT WORK. Perhaps COSMOS. These are all three working titles of separate manuscripts and I’m not certain whether they will retain these titles as finished books. Nor am I certain which book will be published first. Thank you for your interest, Ben.